County Board Chair Spends Donor Money on Meals, Journey, Candy, Wine Bars » Urban Milwaukee

Marcelia Nicholson. Photo from Milwaukee County.

Milwaukee County Board Chairwoman Marcelia Nicholson nearly by no means stops campaigning.

She travels always, incessantly holding technique periods at costly eating places or wine bars, or over connoisseur desserts, and all on her donors’ dime, in keeping with her marketing campaign finance stories.

Nicholson has not confronted an opponent since she first ran for the county board in 2016. During redistricting in 2021, her colleagues drew a legislative district particularly for her so she wouldn’t need to run in opposition to one other incumbent on the board.

Despite all this, Nicholson is incessantly campaigning throughout Milwaukee, the state and the nation, in keeping with her marketing campaign finance data, eating at costly steakhouses and seafood eating places, and spending 1000’s on journey in Milwaukee and cities across the nation.

Neither her colleagues on the board, nor County Executive David Crowley, have marketing campaign finance stories that resemble the chairwoman’s. Most bills reported by county officers and candidates for workplace are for digital providers used to run a marketing campaign, for printed supplies and for marketing campaign consulting.

Nicholson’s marketing campaign spending patterns have been first reported by reporter Vanessa Swales on Monday. In July this yr, Nicholson amended most of her marketing campaign finance stories going again 2019.

Between Jan. 1 and June 30 this yr, a non-election yr for county supervisors, Nicholson spent greater than $4,000 in donor funds on journey, meals, native bars and costly fundraising galas: $1,250 for tickets to an Aurora Healthcare Foundation occasion and $107.90 on tickets to an occasion held by Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.

Records present it’s not unusual for Nicholson to expense meals — regionally or whereas touring. The meals are sometimes written off as technique conferences or candidate meals. For instance, on the identical day, July 18, 2021, Nicholson expensed a $20 meal throughout a method assembly at Crab du Jour, 9080 N. Green Bay Rd., and a $91 meal at Cafe on the Pfister, additionally for “election stratgey [sic].” A March 2024 meal at Landry’s Seafood House in San Antonio ($76.95) was a “candidate expense – meal.” At different occasions, like a $30 expense in 2020 at Thief Wine Bar within the Milwaukee Public Market, the meals are extra generically labeled “food”.

The chairwoman has additionally proven a style for connoisseur desserts whereas campaigning. For instance, in Sept. 2020, Nicholson expensed a $79 buy at Kehr’s Candy Kitchen. In Aug. 2021, she expensed her marketing campaign account at Brooklyn Whiskers, a former bakery in Brooklyn, New York City. In January final yr, she expensed $19 at Gracious Bakery in New Orleans. And in February this yr she spent $25.15 at a dessert store in Washington D.C. known as Un je ne sais Quoi.

Nicholson’s marketing campaign finance data present she travels usually and incessantly prices her marketing campaign account for meals and rides with providers like Lyft and Uber. Sometimes the journey is said to her function as a county supervisor. She nonetheless bills her account throughout these journeys, one thing different county elected officers keep away from.

On June 3-5 this yr Nicholson was in New Orleans representing the county board and accepting the 2024 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Culture of Health Prize alongside different county officers together with Crowley. During her time there she expensed a number of meals at numerous eating places and rides with Lyft. The county govt didn’t expense any meals or journey in the course of the journey.

Just a month prior, in May, Nicholson charged her marketing campaign account for $71 at Vino Volo, a wine bar at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport. The subsequent day she equally charged for a $117 meal at Kitchen + Kocktails in Washington D.C., which serves “elevated southern comfort food.”

In February 2024, Nicholson reimbursed herself $1,866.97 for “candidate travel;” placing her personal title because the supply of the expenditure. Just a couple of days earlier than this expense was logged, Nicholson charged $81 to her marketing campaign account at a news stand and snack kiosk at Los Angeles International Airport.

The place of chair of the Milwaukee County Board pays roughly $46,574. Nicholson additionally serves on a variety of boards for native organizations together with Hispanic Professionals of Greater Milwaukee, Milwaukee Public Museum, Wisconsin Counties Association, and Clean Wisconsin. She can be a board member of Local Progress, a nationwide non-profit advancing progressive Democratic politics on the native stage. The group is predicated in Washington D.C. Tax data for these organizations present Nicholson doesn’t acquire any compensation for sitting on their boards.

Over the years, Nicholson has usually spent 1000’s of {dollars} throughout any given reporting interval on meals and journey. Rarely is she expensing gadgets typical for native campaigns, like printing providers, digital donation charges for providers like ActBlue, stamps for mailers or catering for marketing campaign occasions.

Nicholson didn’t reply to a request for remark previous to publishing.

Update

After publishing, a spokesperson for Nicholson responded to questions despatched by Urban Milwaukee.

Asked why the chairwoman is usually expensing meals and journey throughout the nation, her spokesperson: “Chairwoman Nicholson is one of the top elected leaders in Milwaukee County, and her campaign reflects that level of responsibility. Her expenses cover outreach, meetings, and events tied to campaign activity, and they’ve always been reported transparently and in full compliance with Wisconsin law.”

Asked if bills characterize precise marketing campaign bills, or whether or not some represented private bills, they stated, “All reported costs were campaign related. Chairwoman Nicholson’s activities often take her across Wisconsin and occasionally out of state to support other candidates, build relationships, and strengthen networks.”

And, whether or not Nicholson would proceed to cost these types of bills to her marketing campaign account: “Her campaign will continue to report expenses transparently and when they are directly tied to campaign purposes.”